A SKETCH 



OF THE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



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Jan. 1836. 



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WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



When a man has been selected from among the people, as 
a suitable candidate for any important office in their gift, it is 
no more than common justice to all parties, that his fellow 
citizens should be supplied with some authentic information 
respecting his past life. It is right and proper that they should 
know what services he has rendered to his country, what 
public stations he has held, and with what fidelity and upright- 
ness he has discharged the duties of those offices, with which 
he has been intrusted — that, furnished with this information, 
they may be enabled to form a fair estimate of his abilities, and 
of his usefulness and integrity in his future career. At the 
present time, no one before the public occupies more general 
attention than William H. Harrison. We therefore think it 
an acceptable service to those, who are not familiar with the 
life of this distinguished man, to place before them the follow- 
ing brief sketch of his biography and public services. We 
offer them an honest outline of plain facts, gathered from the 
most authentic sources. Should any of our readers desire 
more particular information, or wish for detailed evidence of 
the historic truth of this outline, we refer them to our public 
documents connected with the events here recorded, to Butler's 
History of Kentucky, and M'Affee's History of the Late War, 
and to the excellent biographical works of Dawson and Judge 
Hall — from which sources, this sketch has been principally 
drawn. 

William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia on the 9th of 
February, 1773. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was one of 
the patriots of the Revolution. He was a very distinguished 
member of the first congress of the United States, which met 



( 4 ) 

at Philadelphia in 1774, and was one of the most conspicuous 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He after- 
wards rendered important services to his country by his ene 1 
getic and patriotic measures as governor of his native state, 
Virginia. This eminent patriot died in 1791 ; leaving his son, 
William, under the guardianship of his friend, the celebrated 
Robert Morris. 

Young Harrison was educated at Hampden Sydney College; 
and, by the advice of his friends, turned his attention to' the 
study of medicine. But about the period when he had com- 
pleted his education, soon after the death of his father, the 
increased "and barbarous hostilities of the Indians on our 
north-western borders, began to excite a feeling of indignation 
throughout the whole country. In this general excitement 
our young student participated so warmly, that he resolved 
to relinquish his professional pursuits, and join the army des- 
tined to the defence of the Ohio frontier. 

The war in this part of our country was then assuming a 
very alarming aspect. The Indian tribes, who had been in the 
service of Great Britain, during our Revolutionary struggle, 
had not yet laid down the tomahawk ; but still persisted in 
their ruthless hostilities, and in the almost daily commission of 
their savage atrocities. From the year 1783, when Great 
Britain acknowledged our independence, and war with the 
mother country ceased, up to the year 1791, it was estimated 
that more than fifteen hundred of our hardy borderers had 
fallen victims to the rifle and scalping knife of their savage 
foes. Our north-western frontier presented an appalling scene 
of rapine, conflagration, and wanton destruction of life and 
property. Many of our border settlements had been crushed 
in their infancy, and all had been retarded in their growth. 
Expedition after expedition, fitted out to oppose them, had met 
with the most disheartening losses ; and finally a gallant army 
under Brigadier General Harmer, which had been sent ex- 
pressly to chastise these savages, had been signally defeated 
by them, and almost annihilated. Of the few experienced offi- 
cers who escaped from Harmer's defeat, nearly all, worn out 



( 5 ) . 

with the fatigues of a service so harassing, and shrinking from 
a warfare of so dangerous and barbarous a nature, had resigned 
their commissions; and a feeling of dismay began to pervade 
the whole community. 

Such was the gloomy aspect of affairs, when the ardent and 
generous patriotism of young Harrison prompted him to give 
up the comforts and luxuries that surrounded him at home, and 
peril his life in defence of his fellow-countrymen. 

He received the commission of an ensign in the United 
States' artillery, in the autumn of the year 1791 ; and hastened 
immediately to join his regiment, which was then stationed at 
Fort Washington. He arrived at that post a few days after 
the unfortunate defeat of General St. Clair, near the Miami 
villages, by the confederated Indians under the command of 
the celebrated chief, Little Turtle. This disastrous defeat, in 
which St. Clair's army was destroyed, with the loss of nearly 
a thousand men, killed or taken prisoners, left the whole of our 
north-western frontier exposed to the ravages of a merciless 
enemy, and added greatly to the general consternation before 
existing. 

In this state of things, our government saw the necessity of 
adopting immediate and efficient means to put an end to this 
savage conflict. Another army was promptly raised, and the 
command given to General Anthony Wayne — a gallant and 
skilful officer, who had earned a brilliant reputation in the 
Revolutionary War. Wayne's Legion, as his army was called 
in the new organization, assembled at Pittsburg, in the summer 
of 1792; and in the ensuing month of November, they left 
that place, and went into winter quarters, at Legionville, on 
the Ohio, 22 miles below Pittsburg. 

About this time, Harrison was promoted to a lieutenancy; 
and shortly after, he joined Wayne's Legion. His fearlessness 
and energy, with his strict attention to discipline, soon attracted 
the notice of his commander-in-chief, himself a bold and daring 
soldier and a rigid disciplinarian; and General Wayne, not long 
after his arrival, selected him as one of his aids-de-camp. 

We have entered thus minutely into this detail, because we 



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wish to point out at how early an age, and in what trying 
times, young Harrison was thought worthy of honourable dis- 
tinction. 

Lieutenant Harrison acted as aid to General Wayne during 
the whole of the ensuing campaigns; and his bravery and gal- 
lant conduct throughout were such, that he was repeatedly 
officially noticed in terms of the highest encomium. The war 
was conducted by General Wayne with all the cool daring of 
a veteran soldier, and the sagacity of a prudent general — 
until finally, on the 20th of August, 1794, he fought the bloody 
and desperate battle of the Miami, in which the confederated 
Indians, with their allies, were totally defeated. Their heavy 
losses in this battle so disheartened the Indians, that, a few 
months after, they entered into negotiations for a treaty of 
peace, giving hostages for their good faith — and thus, with the 
close of this war, were extinguished what may be considered 
the last embers of our revolutionary struggle. In his des- 
patch to the Secretary of War, after this decisive victory, 
General Wayne, in mentioning those whose good conduct made 
them conspicuous on this occasion, says — " My faithful and 
gallant aids-de-camp, Captains De Butts and T. Lewis, and 
Lieutenant Harrison, with the Adjutant-general, Major Mills, 
rendered the most essential service, by communicating my 
orders in every direction, and by their conduct and bravery 
exciting the troops to press for victory." 

Soon after this battle, Lieutenant Harrison received the com- 
mission of a captain, and was placed in command of Fort 
Washington — the most important station on the Western fron- 
tier. He remained in the army till the close of the year 1797, 
when, as there was no longer an opportunity to serve his 
country in the field, he resigned his commission, to commence 
his career of civil services. He was almost immediately ap- 
pointed secretary, and, ex-officio, lieutenant-governor of the 
North-Western territory ; which then embraced the whole ex- 
tent of our country lying north-west of the Ohio river — thus 
receiving his first civil appointment in that part of our country 
which he had perilled his life to defend. 



( 7 ) 

While in this station, he entered so warmly into the interests 
uf the people, and his intelligence and the kindness and urba- 
nity of his manners rendered him so popular, that when, in the 
following year, they became entitled to representation in the 
councils of the nation, they almost unanimously elected him 
their first delegate to Congress. Mr. Harrison was, at this 
time, about twenty-six years of age. 

He took his seat in the House of Representatives, at the first 
session of the sixth Congress, in December, 1799. There were 
then in Congress some of the ablest and most enlightened 
statesmen, and some of the most eloquent men, our country 
has ever produced. Yet in this severe ordeal, the abilities and 
manly energies of Mr. Harrison soon commanded universal 
respect. At this period, the all-engrossing subject in the West, 
and one in which our whole country had a deep interest, was 
the sale of our public lands. The manner in which these lands 
had been hitherto disposed of, had created great dissatisfaction 
among the people. They had been sold only in large tracts ; 
the smallest of which included, at least, four thousand acres. 
Our hardy yeomanry, with limited pecuniary means, were 
thus shut out from all chance of competition with wealthy 
speculators and grasping monopolists, in the purchase of these 
lands — the poorer emigrants were becoming disheartened at 
the chilling prospects before them, and the settlement of the 
new country was ffreatlv retarded. Fullv aware of the im- 
policy and injustice of this state of things, and true to the trust 
confided in him, Mr. Harrison's earliest legislative efforts were 
made to overthrow this pernicious system. He aroused the 
attention of Congress to the consideration of this important 
subject, and evinced so intimate an acquaintance with the facts 
and business details connected with it, that he was appointed 
chairman of a committee raised to examine into and report on 
the existing mode of disposing of the public lands. After a 
proper investigation, he presented a report, accompanied by a 
bill, the principal object of which was to reduce the size of the 
tracts of public land offered for sale, to such a smaller number 
of acres as would place them within the reach of actual set- 



( 8 ) 

tiers. This masterly report, which was the joint production of 
himself and Mr. Gallatin, together with the great ability and 
eloquence, with which he defended his bill from the powerful 
opposition it encountered in the House, gained Mr. Harrison 
a reputation rarely attained by so young a statesman. The 
bill was carried triumphantly in the House, and finally, after 
some amendments, passed the Senate. The result was, that 
the public lands, instead of being offered only in large tracts, 
of which four thousand acres was the smallest size, were now 
to be sold in alternate sections and half sections — the former 
containing 640, and the latter 320 acres each. The point gained 
was of immense importance, since, from the low price of 
these lands, and the small amount of purchase money required 
to be paid, they were now within the reach of nearly all the 
poorer emigrants and actual settlers, who felt a natural desire 
to own the fee simple of their homes, and of the lands they 
subdued from the wilderness. Thousands of the hardy and 
industrious farmers of our Northern and Middle States, and 
many of the poorer planters of the South, availed themselves 
of the fair field which was now opened for emigration and 
enterprise; and we may justly consider this happy result, 
which Mr. Harrison was so instrumental in producing, as one 
of the leading causes of the rapid settlement and prosperity 
of our Western country. 

In the year 1800, the North- Western territory was divided. 
That part of the old territory, included within the present 
boundaries of Ohio and Michigan, retained its former name ; 
and the immense extent of country, north-west of this, was 
made a separate territory, and received the name of Indiana. 
Soon after this division had taken place, Mr. Harrison resigned 
his seat in Congress, and was appointed governor of the new 
territory. This appointment gave great satisfaction to the 
people of Indiana, with whom the patriotic exertions of Mr. 
Harrison had rendered him deservedly popular; and it was, at 
the same time, the strongest evidence of the confidence, with 
which the General Government relied upon his integrity, prud- 
ence, and capacity for civil government. 



( 9 ) 

The extent of Indiana was almost boundless. The small 
population it then contained was thinly scattered through a 
vast wilderness, and only three settlements of any note existed 
within its territory. One of these was at Vincennes, the capi- 
tal; another at the Falls of the Ohio, one hundred miles dis- 
tant from Vincennes ; and the third, was on the Mississippi, at 
a distance of more than two hundred miles from the capital. 
The communication between these remote points was, at all 
times, difficult and toilsome, and often attended with great dan- 
ger. There existed no practicable roads, and nearly all the 
intermediate country was occupied by the Indians, or overrun 
by their hunting-parties. Most of those savage tribes, though 
professing to be friendly, were restless and dissatisfied ; and 
their leading chiefs still nursed a moody hope of revenge for 
the mortifying defeat they had sustained, six years before, at 
the battle of the Miami. Artful and treacherous, numerous, 
warlike, and thirsting for plunder, they kept this remote fron- 
tier in continual excitement and alarm. The angry feelings of 
our hardy borderers were frequently roused by some robbery 
or atrocious violence committed by the more evil-disposed 
among their savage neighbours, and quarrels often ensued, 
which threatened the peace of the whole community. 

Such was the existing state of things in Indiana Territory, 
when Mr. Harrison was appointed to the administration of its 
government. As governor of a frontier territory so peculiarly 
situated, Mr. Harrison was invested with civil powers of the 
most important nature, as well as with military authority. 
Besides the ordinary powers which he held, ex officio, as 
governor, he had the sole power of dividing the district into 
counties and townships, and was appointed the general super- 
intendent of Indian affairs. He had likewise the unusual power 
of conferring on a numerous class of individuals a legal title 
to large grants of land, on which they before held merely an 
equitable claim. His sole signature was sufficient, without 
any other formality, to give a valid title to these extensive and 
valuable tracts of land. Possessed of this immense power, 
opportunities were continually before him of accumulating a 
2 



( io ) 

princely fortune ; but the scrupulous sense of honour, which 
has always characterized Mr. Harrison, would never permit 
him to speculate in lands over which he had any control. And 
it is a fact worthy of note, that, during the whole time that he 
held this important trust, he never availed himself of his pecu- 
liar advantages to acquire a single acre of land; — no shadow 
of suspicion ever doubted his disinterestedness, and not a 
murmur ever accused him of partiality, or even of unnecessary 
delay, in the performance of this delicate duty. We mention this 
only to show, that the integrity of Mr. Harrison is not merely 
theoretical but practical ; and that it has always shone with 
the purest lustre when assailed by the strongest temptations. 

In 1803, Mr. Jefferson appointed Governor Harrison sole 
" commissioner to enter into any treaties which may be neces- 
sary with any Indian tribes, north-west of the Ohio, and within 
the territory of the United States, on the subject of their bounda- 
ries or lands." By virtue of this, or a similar authority, during 
the subsequent course of his administration, Harrison effected 
thirteen important treaties with the different tribes, on the 
most advantageous terms ; and obtained from them, at various 
times, the cession of large tracts of land, amounting, in all, 
to more than sixty millions of acres, and embracing a large 
portion of the richest region in our country. 

In their frequent intercourse with Governor Harrison, the 
Indians had learned to respect his undaunted firmness, and 
were, at the same time, conciliated by his kindness of manner 
and considerate forbearance. This, with his intimate know- 
ledge of the Indian character, is the true secret of the remark- 
able success that has uniformly attended every treaty he has 
attempted to effect. 

The various and arduous duties of the governor of Indiana 
required, for this office, a man of very superior abilities — one 
possessed of stern integrity and prudent moderation, accom- 
panied by the most unwavering firmness. Such a man Go- 
vernor Harrison, in the long course of his administration, 
fully proved himself to be. The plainest evidence of this, to 
those who are not familiar with the history of Indiana during 



( H ) 

this period, is the fact, that, for thirteen years, at every suc- 
cessive expiration of his term of office, he was re-appointed, 
at the earnest solicitation of the people of the territory, and. 
with the public expression of the most flattering approbation 
on the part of our chief executive. And this too, notwith- 
standing the entire change which had taken place within that 
time in the ruling politics of the country — his first appointment 
having been made by Mr. Adams, his second and third by 
Mr. Jefferson, and his fourth by Mr. Madison. The following 
extract from the resolution, unanimously passed by the House 
of Representatives of Indiana, in the year 1809, requesting the 
re-appointment of Governor Harrison, will show the estimate 
which a long acquaintance had taught them of his worth: — 
" They (the House of Representatives) cannot forbear recom- 
mending to, and requesting of, the President and Senate, most 
earnestly in their own names, and in the names of their con- 
stituents, the re-appointment of their present governor, William 
Henry Harrison, — because he possesses the good wishes and 
affection of a great majority of his fellow-citizens ; — because 
they believe him sincerely attached to the Union, the pros- 
perity of the United States, and the administration of its go- 
vernment; — because they believe him in a superior degree 
capable of promoting the interest of our territory, from long 
experience and laborious attention to its concerns, from his 
influence over the Indians, and wise and disinterested manage- 
ment of that department ; and because they have confidence 
in his virtues, talents, and republicanism." 

If necessary, we might fill a goodly volume with extracts 
from public documents of a similar nature; but what stronger 
proof than this could we have of the popularity of Governor 
Harrison, and of the entire confidence with which the people 
relied on his integrity and ability as a statesman ? 

In the year 1805, the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumthe, and 
his notorious brother, the Shawanese prophet, Ol-li-wa-chi-ca, 
(sometimes called Els-kwa-taw-a,) began to create disturb- 
ances on the frontiers of Indiana. Tecumthe was a bold and 
darino- warrior; sagacious in council and formidable in battle. 



( 12 ) 

The prophet was a shrewd impostor ; cunning, artful, and 
treacherous ; — and they were leagued together by the tie of 
mutual interests, and a common hatred to the whites. The 
object of these crafty intriguers was to form, by their own in- 
fluence and the aid of foreign emissaries, a combination among 
all the North-Western tribes of Indians — with the hope, that 
by a simultaneous attack, they might destroy all the whites, or 
force them from the Valley of the Mississippi. But their de- 
signs were soon known to Governor Harrison, and, aware of 
his dangerous situation, his prudence and wise policy enabled 
him, for several years, to hold his savage neighbours in check. 
The following extracts from a speech, which he delivered to 
the legislature of Indiana, in 1809, will serve to show that he 
fully understood the nature and cause of the excitement then 
existing among the Indians — " Presenting, as we do," said 
Governor Harrison, " a very extended frontier to numerous 
and warlike tribes of the aborigines, the state of our relations 
with them must always form an important and interesting 
feature in our local politics. It is with regret that I have to 
inform you, that the harmony and good understanding which 
it is so much our interest to cultivate with those our neigh- 
hours, have, for some time past, experienced a considerable 
interruption, and that we have indeed been threatened with 
hostilities, by a combination formed under the auspices of a 
bold adventurer, who pretended to act under the immediate 
inspiration of the Deity. His character as a prophet would 
not, however, have given him any very dangerous influence, 
if he had not been assisted by the intrigues and advice of foreign 
agents, and other disaffected persons, who have for years 
omitted no opportunity of counteracting the measures of the 
government with regard to the Indians, and filling their natu- 
rally jealous minds with suspicions of the justice and integrity 
of our views towards them." 

Two years subsequent to this, in 1811, from petty aggres- 
sions, the Indians proceeded to more open violence, and acts 
of decided hostility. The war whoop was again heard yelling 
within the limits of the territory, and every day brought fresh 



( 13) 

accounts of the perpetration of those atrocious deeds of depre- 
dation and murder, which always give the first intimation of a 
savage war. From motives of humanity as well as policy, 
Governor Harrison had always endeavoured to avoid a war 
with the Indians ; but when this result became unavoidable, he 
promptly adopted the most energetic measures within his 
limited resources, to place the territory in a posture of defence. 
At his own earnest request, and at the solicitation of the peo- 
ple, the President, soon after, directed him to march with an 
armed force towards the principal place of rendezvous of the 
hostile Indians, the Prophet's town, on the Wabash, near the 
mouth of the Tippecanoe — where this crafty impostor had 
assembled a body of more than a thousand fierce warriors, 
ready to obey his will. 

Governor Harrison immediately assembled five hundred of 
the militia and volunteers of Indiana. These, with a regiment 
of United States infantry, consisting of three hundred and fifty 
men, commanded by Colonel Boyd, and a small body of volun- 
teers from Kentucky, constituted his whole available force — 
amounting in all to about nine hundred effective men. As soon 
as he had disciplined these troops, and trained both the regulars 
and militia in the Indian mode of warfare, he took up his line 
of march towards the Prophet's town. 

He left Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about sixty miles 
above Vincennes, on the 28th of October, 1811. Profiting by 
his own early experience, and the remembered example of his 
old friend and commander, General Wayne, his march through 
a wild country to Tippecanoe, was conducted with so much 
skill and prudence, that he avoided all danger of ambuscade or 
surprise from the savage foe. On the 6th of November, the 
army arrived within five or six miles of the Prophet's town. 
According to the instructions he had received from the Presi- 
dent, Governor Harrison immediately sent in a flag of truce, 
to endeavour to open an amicable negotiation with the hostile 
Indians. To this overture, the Prophet returned a deceitful 
reply — he professed the most pacific intentions, and agreed to 
meet Harrison the next day in council, with his chiefs, to settle 



( 14) 

definitely the terms of peace. But Harrison knew too well the 
treachery of his artful antagonist, to allow himself to be de- 
ceived by his specious pi'ofessions, or lulled into any fancied 
security. He carefully selected the most eligible and defensi- 
ble position for his encampment, and ordered his troops to lie 
upon their arms all night, that they might be in readiness, at a 
moment's warning, to repel any sudden attack of the enemy. 
The sequel proved that these precautions were wisely adopted. 
An anxious night passed away without interruption ; but 
about four o'clock, on the following morning, two hours before 
daylight, a sentinel at one of the outposts discovered an Indian 
creeping stealthily towards the camp. He immediately gave 
the alarm, and almost at the same instant, a strong body of the 
enemy rushed towards the encampment, with the most savage 
yells. They made a furious charge on the left of the camp ; 
and so sudden and desperate was their onset, that the guard 
stationed in that quarter, gave way, at first, to their fierce as- 
sailants. But these brave troops soon rallied, and retrieved 
the ground they had lost. The camp-fires were extinguished 
with all possible haste, and the battle was now waged on more 
equal terms. Our gallant troops fought with the most daring 
intrepidity, and their savage foes evinced a desperate valour 
worthy of a better cause. The battle raged with great fury 
till the dawn of day, when a simultaneous charge was made 
upon the enemy, on either flank, and they were speedily put to 
flio-ht, with ereat loss, and the battle terminated. During all 
this time, the false Prophet had been seated at a safe distance 
from the field of battle, chanting a war-song, and promising 
victory to his deluded brethren. 

The battle of Tippecanoe was one of the most spirited and 
best fought actions recorded in the annals of our Indian wars. 
The numbers and the weapons on either side were nearly 
equal; and the Indians, contrary to their usual custom, fought 
hand to hand, and with the fiercest bravery. Every man in 
this battle encountered his share of danger, but no man was in 
more personal peril than Governor Harrison himself— well 
known to many of the Indians, and the object of their peculiar 



( 15 ) 

attack — his fearless and unshrinking exposure, makes it seem 
almost a miracle that he should have escaped unwounded. In 
referring to the coolness and intrepidity of Governor Harrison, 
on this occasion, we cannot refrain from making the following 
extracts from a journal published in 1816, by a private soldier, 
who fought in this battle, and who could have had no interested 
motives for his publication: — "General Harrison," he says, 
" received a shot through the rim of his hat. In the heat of 
the action his voice was frequently heard, and easily distin- 
guished, giving his orders in the same calm, cool, and collected 
manner, with which we had been used to receive them on drill 
or parade. The confidence of the troops in the General was 
unlimited." The same writer, in speaking of Harrison's kind- 
ness to the soldiers, and his influence over them, remarks : — 
" He appeared not disposed to detain any man against his in- 
clination ; being endowed by nature with a heart as humane 
as brave, in his frequent addresses to the militia, his eloquence 
was formed to persuade ; appeals were made to reason as well 
as feeling, and never were they made in vain." 

An incident that occurred at this time, is worth recording. 
The night before the battle, a negro man belonging to the 
camp, who had been missing, was arrested near the Governor's 
marquee, under very suspicious circumstances. He was tried 
by a court-martial for desertion to the enemy, and for an 
attempt to assassinate the Governor. {Sufficient evidence was 
found to convict him, and he was sentenced to death ; yet such 
were the humane feelings of Harrison, that he could not in- 
duce himself to sign the order for his execution. As the cri- 
minal attempt had been made against his own life, he felt him- 
self privileged to exercise his benevolence towards the offender, 
and the misguided wretch was suffered to escape the just pun- 
ishment of his crime. It would have been more in accordance 
with the principles of strict justice, to have allowed the law to 
take its own course in this instance — but the circumstances of 
the case were very peculiar, and Governor Harrison's conduct 
evinced a magnanimity and humanity of heart rarely equalled. 
The importance of the victory at Tippecanoe, cannot be too 



( 16 ) 

highly estimated. It quelled the haughty spirit of the discon- 
tented and hostile Indians, and defeated the plan, which they 
had almost matured, of attacking and destroying our scattered 
border settlements in detail. Had we lost this battle, our army 
must have been annihilated — the whole extent of our defence- 
less frontier would have been left to the mercy of sanguinary 
and unsparing savages, and the consequent loss of life, and de- 
struction of property would have been almost incalculable. 

The President, in his message to Congress, dated December 
18th, 1812, makes the following honourable mention of this bat- 
tle : — " While it is deeply to be lamented," says Mr. Madison, 
" that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action which 
took place on the Oth ult., Congress will see, with satisfaction, 
the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by 
every description of troops engaged, as well as the collected 
firmness which distinguished their commander, on an occasion 
requiring the utmost exertion of valour and discipline." 

The Legislature of Kentucky, at their ensuing session, ex- 
pressed their high sense of Governor Harrison's good conduct 
on this occasion, by the following complimentary resolution: 

" Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians, 
on the Wabash, Governor W. H. Harrison has, in the opinion 
of this legislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a gene- 
ral; and that for his cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant con- 
duct, in the late battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest 
thanks of the nation." 

This hisrh encomium came from those whose friends and 

O 

neighbours had participated in the late campaign, and who 
were consequently familiar with its details, and with the merits 
of the commander. 

War was declared against Great Britain in June, 1812. Prior 
to this event, British agents had, for a long time, been tamper- 
ing with the discontented Indians within our territory, and had 
bribed them with presents, and furnished them with fire-arms, 
to induce them to renew their hostilities against our country. 
The crafty and daring Tecumthe, too, was once more in the 
field. Urged on by his savage eloquence, by their own native 



( 17 ) 

love for war and plunder, and by the atrocious intrigues of 
foreign agents, the north-western Indians again raised the war- 
whoop, and commenced their barbarous system of warfare. 
Their cruel murders and depredations, became of frequent oc- 
currence, and the wailings of bereaved mothers and orphans, 
and the bitter complaints of those who had escaped from the 
conflagration of their plundered homes, excited the commise- 
ration of our hardy borderers, and roused a general feeling of 
indignation. Such was the state of excitement in our frontier 
settlements in the summer of 1812. 

Immediately after the declaration of war, our western go- 
vernors promptly adopted every measure in their power, for 
the defence of their respective states and territories. But con- 
scious of the great abilities and experience of Harrison, they 
placed the utmost reliance on his counsels, and looked to him 
as the leader, under whom they might hope for success against 
the common enemy. He aided Governor Edwards in placing 
the frontier of Illinois in a posture of defence, and soon after, 
was invited by Governor Scott, of Kentucky, to a conference 
in relation to the Kentucky troops, which had been raised for 
the defence of the frontier. He accepted this invitation, and 
met Governor Scott at Frankfort; where he was received with 
the acclamations of the people, and with the highest civil and 
military honours. These public marks of the high estimation 
in which Harrison was held by the people, were shortly after 
followed by proofs still more flattering, of their confidence in 
his patriotism, his abilities, and his military skill. 

Governor Scott had levied an armed force of more than five 
thousand militia and volunteers, commanded by some of the 
ablest men and most experienced officers in the state. Two 
thousand of these troops were ordered for immediate service; 
and they had no sooner learned that they were destined to 
march to the aid of their fellow countrymen on the frontier, 
than they at once unanimously expressed the most earnest de- 
sire, to be placed under the command of Governor Harrison. 
This desire was responded to by the wishes of the people 
throughout the state. The laws of Kentucky, however, would 
3 



/ 



(18) \ 

not permit any other than a citizen, to hold a command in the 
state militia. In this dilemma, Governor Scott consulted with 
the venerable Shelby, (the governor elect), the Hon. Henry 
Clav, and other distinguished citizens of the state; and bv their 
unanimous advice he gave Harrison a brevet commission of 
major general in the Kentucky militia, with express authority 
to take command of the gallant troops, about to march to the 
frontier. This was a bold and unprecedented measure, but 
one that gave unbounded satisfaction to both soldiers and citi- 
zens, and one fully warranted by the peculiar exigencies of the 
case. These facts speak volumes in favour of the remarkable 
popularity, which Governor Harrison enjoyed in a population 
of brave and chivalric people, boasting an unusual proportion 
of talented and distinguished men. 

About this time, the cowardice and imbecility of General 
Hull, tamely surrendered to the British, the important post of 
Detroit, with the gallant force which composed its garrison. 
This event spread consternation, far and wide, through the 
western country, and greatly increased the difficulty and ardu- 
ous nature of Governor Harrison's duties. He immediately 
organized the brave troops under his command, and com- 
menced 'a course of rigid discipline and military training; with 
the confident hope of retrieving the disasters, consequent upon 
the cowardly surrender of Detroit. 

Soon after, he was appointed a brigadier general in the ser- 
vice of the United States. But, as the chief command of the 
western army was conferred on General Winchester, Harrison 
declined accepting the commission tendered him, and gave up 
his command, to return to Indiana and resume the duties of his 
territorial government. 

General Winchester, who had thus superseded Governor 
Harrison, was an old revolutionary soldier, and a brave and 
meritorious officer ; but one who was not, like Harrison, pos- 
sessed of the enthusiastic confidence of the army. Governor- 
Harrison exerted every effort in his power, to reconcile the 
troops to this change. But soon after he left them, their dis- 
pleasure at having been deprived of their favourite commander. 



( 19) 

was not confined to murmurs, but created disaffection and al- 
most mutiny. 

No sooner was the President made aware of the condition 
of the army, and of the almost unanimous wishes of the west- 
ern people, than he immediately appointed Harrison, in place 
of Winchester, commander-in-chief of the north-western army. 
The despatch conveying this appointment, overtook him on his 
way to Indiana, and he returned without delay to the army, 
and was reinstated in his command. 

The powers conferred on Harrison, as commander-in-chief 
of the north-western army, were of great extent, and he was 
left to exercise them according to his own unrestricted judg- 
ment. In the despatch containing this appointment, dated Sep- 
tember 17th, 1812, the Secretary of War says: — "You will 
command such means as may be practicable — exercise your 
own discretion, and act in all cases according to your own 
judgment" — thus conferring upon him extraordinary and al- 
most unlimited powers. We refer to this, merely that we may 
here notice the remarkable fact, that, though vested with un- 
usual powers, General Harrison was never known, during the 
whole of his command, to exercise his authority in an unjust 
or oppressive manner. His measures were energetic, but 
always qualified by his characteristic moderation and huma- 
nity, and by a regard for the feelings of even the meanest sol- 
dier in his camp. 

The duties that devolved on General Harrison, in his new 
station, were arduous beyond description. The troops under 
his command, though brave, were mostly inexperienced and 
undisciplined recruits; and the army was badly equipped, and 
nearly destitute of baggage and military stores. With these 
limited means, and under these unfavourable circumstances, he 
was required to defend an immense extent of frontier, stretch- 
ing along the shores of the great northern lakes, whose nume- 
rous harbours and rivers were easy of access to the enemy. In 
addition to this, the roads leading to those points which most 
required defence, were nearly impassable, and lay, for hun- 
dreds of miles, through a wilderness swarming with hostile 



(20 ) 

Indians, and through gloomy and dangerous swamps, where 
the troops, though little encumbered with baggage, could ad- 
vance but slowly, and with great fatigue. Under all these 
difficulties, the spirits of the soldiers were sustained by the pre- 
sence and example of their favourite commander — who ani- 
mated them in their fatigues, and cheerfully endured the same 
hardships and privations which they encountered. 

The autumn and early part of the winter were spent in ac- 
tive and laborious preparations for the approaching summer 
campaign — roads were cut, depots formed, forts built, and a 
few expeditions were sent out to protect our out-posts, and 
keep the enemy in check. One of these expeditions, consisting 
of a detachment of six hundred men, under Lieutenant Colonel 
Campbell, was sent by General Harrison against a fortified 
Indian village, from which our troops had suffered much an- 
noyance. This enterprise was conducted with great skill and 
success. The village was attacked in the most gallant man- 
ner, and, after a desperate action of more than an hour, was 
carried at the point of the bayonet. From the general order 
issued by Harrison, on the return of this expedition, we make 
the following extract, which will convey some idea of the hu- 
mane and generous feelings, that have always characterized 
both his public and private conduct. After awarding these gal- 
lant troops the high meed of praise which their bravery had 
won, he goes on to say, — "But the character of this gallant 
detachment, exhibiting as it did, perseverance, fortitude, and 
bravery, would, however, be incomplete, if, in the midst of vic- 
tory, they had forgotten the feelings of humanity. It is with 
the sincerest pleasure that the General has heard, that the most 
punctual obedience was paid to his orders, in not only saving 
all the women and children, but in sparing all the warriors who 
ceased to resist ; and that even when vigorously attacked by 
the enemy, the claims of mercy prevailed over every sense of 
their own danger, and this heroic band respected the lives of 
their prisoners. Let an account of murdered innocence be 
opened in the records of heaven, against our enemies alone. 
The American soldier will follow the example of his govern- 



( 21 ) 

ment ; and the sword of the one will not be raised against, the 
fallen and helpless, nor the gold of the other be paid for the 
scalps of a massacred enemy." What a contrast do these 
noble sentiments present to the atrocious conduct of the British 
General, Proctor — who, at the cruel massacre at Raisin River, 
and elsewhere, basely permitted unresisting prisoners of war to 
be butchered, by his savage allies, in cold blood. 

Late in the season the army went into winter quarters at 
their strongly fortified position on the banks of the Miami, 
near the rapids, which was called Camp Meigs, in honour of 
the patriotic governor of Ohio. Leaving the army at that 
station, General Harrison proceeded to Cincinnati, to procure 
reinforcements of men, and supplies of provisions and military 
stores, for the approaching campaign. But early in the 
spring, intelligence was received that the British were making 
extensive preparations, and concentrating a large force of 
regular soldiers, Canadians, and Indians, to besiege Fort 
Meigs. On obtaining; this information, General Harrison 
hastened to his camp, and exerted the most strenuous efforts, to 
prepare for this threatened attack of the enemy. His presence 
cheered the troops, and he inspired them with fresh ardour, on 
the approach of the enemy, by an eloquent address, in which 
he alluded modestly, but in the most animating manner, to the 
neighbouring battle-field, where General Wayne had gained 
the brilliant victory of the Miami, and where he himself had 
won the brightest of his earlier laurels. 

On the 28th of April, 1813, the scouts brought in intelligence 
of the arrival of the enemy. On the same day, a strong force 
of British and Indians ascended the river in boats, and disem- 
barked, partly on the south-eastern shore, and partly on the 
opposite side of the river. Here they immediately commenced 
the construction of three powerful batteries. Corresponding 
traverses were made within the Fort, and every approach of 
the enemy was met and foiled, with consummate skill and 
bravery. 

On the first of May, the batteries of the enemy being com- 
pleted, they opened a heavy cannonading, which was returned 



( 22 ) 

with equal vigour from the Fort. This cannonading was 
continued without intermission for five days ; but owing to the 
skilful dispositions of General Harrison, it was attended with 
very little loss on our side. 

On the fifth of May, a gallant reinforcement of Kentuckians, 
under General Clay, fought their way to the camp; and Har- 
rison, availing himself of this fortunate occurrence, promptly 
ordered a sortie to be made from the Fort to destroy the batte- 
ries of the enemy. The detachment ordered to this service, 
consisted, of three hundred and fifty men, a part of whom 
were reo-ulars, and the remainder volunteers and Kentucky 
militia, under the command of Colonel Miller, of the United 
States army. These brave troops attacked a body of British 
regulars and Indians, of more than double their number; but 
the impetuosity of their charge was irresistible, and after a 
severe struggle, they drove the enemy from the batteries. They 
spiked the cannon, took a large number of prisoners, and 
having fully accomplished their object, returned in triumph to 
the Fort. This sortie was one of the most sanguinary and 
desperate actions, fought during the whole war — and its brilliant 
success was richly merited, by the intrepid gallantry of the 
brave troops engaged in it. 

Another attack had, in the mean time, been made upon the 
British batteries on the opposite side of the river. The enemy 
were taken by surprise, and their batteries carried with great 
ease, but the result proved unfortunate. The detachment 
ordered to this service had received instructions from General 
Harrison, to return to the Fort as soon as they had accom- 
plished the object of the enterprise — but unhappily, the new 
and inexperienced, though brave, troops, that composed this 
detachment, instead of obeying their orders, imprudently lin- 
gered till they were entirely surrounded by the enemy; and 
many of them were cut to pieces, without the possibility of 
lending them any aid from the Fort. Had the commands of 
their general been obeyed, this misfortune could not have 
occurred, and the day would have been one of unclouded suc- 
cess and triumph. 



( 23 ) 

Thwarted by the skilful dispositions of Harrison, and by the 
battle, or rather succession of battles, fought on the fifth, Proc- 
tor was compelled to abandon the siege of Fort Meigs — and 
on the eighth of May, he broke up his camp, and retreated in 
disappointment and disgrace. 

Thus terminated the glorious defence of Fort Meigs. Har- 
rison, soon after, left General Clay in command of that impor- 
tant post, and, unwearied in his exertions, proceeded to more 
difficult and arduous duties, at other exposed stations. 

The unceasing efforts of the British, and the restless spirit 
of Tecumthe, allowed our troops but little time to recover 
from their severe fatigues. In less than two months after the 
siege of Fort Meigs had been abandoned, the Indians assem- 
bled a formidable body of more than five thousand warriors, 
under their most noted chiefs, and again threatened an attack 
on that fortress. On receiving this intelligence, General Har- 
rison, with a small body of regulars, hastened to Fort Meigs, 
by forced marches, and fortunately arrived there before the 
enemy. Leaving a reinforcement with General Clay, he re- 
turned without delay to his more active duties. 

During the whole of this interesting campaign, the vigilance 
and the intrepidity of General Harrison, with the bravery of 
his soldiers, enabled him to keep a far superior force of the 
enemy in check, and to protect the wide extent of our exposed 
frontier. Our forts were ably defended, and our troops gal- 
lantly repelled every attack of the enemy, except in some few 
instances, where they were assailed by an overwhelming force. 

At about the period when the enemy invested Fort Meigs 
for the second time, they made a desperate attack on Fort 
Stephenson, a temporary depot at Lower Sandusky, which 
was bravely and successfully defended by Major Croghan, of 
the regular service. We particularly mention this event in the 
campaign, as a noble action worthy of note, and because we 
wish to advert to the illiberal and unjust remarks, which have 
been made by some of General Harrison's political enemies, in 
relation to the defence of this fort, and the subsequent mea- 
sures of the commander-in-chief. At the date of this attack on 



( 24 ) 

Fort Stephenson, the enemy had nearly seven thousand men 
in the field — two thousand of whom were British regulars and 
Canadians, and the remainder were warriors of the fiercest 
Indian tribes. The army under General Harrison was greatly 
inferior in numbers, and it became his duty, as a skilful com- 
mander, to withdraw his unimportant outposts, to avoid risking 
unnecessarily the loss of a single soldier, and to enable him, 
by concentrating his forces, to hold the enemy in check at 
least, if he should not prove strong enough to give him battle. 
Fort Stephenson was a temporary and unimportant station ; 
and so commanded by the high ground in its neighbourhood, 
as to be utterly indefensible against heavy artillery — and such, 
from their command of the lake, the British could easily trans- 
port to its attack. Fully aware of this, from having reconnoi- 
tered the ground in person, General Harrison, on learning that 
this station was about to be assailed, thought it proper to with- 
draw the garrison. He accordingly despatched an order to 
Major Croghan, directing him to abandon Fort Stephenson, 
and repair, if practicable, to Head Quarters — which were then 
at Seneca Town, nine miles further up the river. This order 
was not received by Major Croghan until the following day — 
when flying parties of the Indians had become so numerous 
round the Fort, that, as Croghan himself stated, it was too late 
to carry the order into execution, and he decided on maintain- 
ing the place. In consequence of this disobedience of orders, 
Colonel Wells was immediately sent, with a strong escort of 
cavalry, to take command of Fort Stephenson, and Croghan 
was ordered to repair forthwith to Head Quarters. But on his 
arrival there, he made such satisfactory explanations to the 
commander-in-chief, of the situation of the Fort, and of his 
own respectful intentions, that General Harrison at once rein- 
stated him in his command. He returned to his duties the fol- 
lowing morning, and on the same day, July 31st, this station 
was invested by a force of thirteen hundred British regulars 
and Indians. They attacked the Fort with great vigour, and 
repeatedly attempted to take it by assault — but they were each 
time defeated, and were at length forced to abandon their 



(25 ) 

attempt, and retreat in confusion, having lost, in killed and 
wounded, nearly as many as the entire number of the gallant 
spirits who defended the Fort. 

' (This defence of a position, which General Harrison had or- ^jjl 
dered to be abandoned, and the fact of his not having imme- 
diately advanced upon the enemy, were seized upon, with 
avidity, by the ignorant and malicious among his political op- 
ponents, who industriously circulated the falsest statements 
and most perverted misrepresentations, relative to these occur- 
rences. But fortunately, the plain truth soon became so well 
known, that General Harrison's fair fame suffered no injury 
from these unfounded calumnies. So many gallant officers as 
well as honourable and high-minded men bore witness, of their 
own accord, to the military wisdom of his measures, that the 
stigma, with which his calumniators had endeavoured to 
darken his unsullied reputation, only rebounded, to add a still 
deeper stain to their own. 

We lav before our readers the following short extracts from 
an address to the public, relative to this affair, which was 
voluntarily published by the general, field, and staff-officers, of 
General Harrison's army. After expressing their " regret and 
surprise, that charges as improper in form as in substance, 
should have been made against General Harrison, during the 
recent investment of Lower Sandusky," they go on to say : — 
" He who believes that with our disposable force, and under 
the circumstances which then occurred, General Harrison 
ought to have advanced upon the enemy, must be left to cor- 
rect his opinion in the school of experience. 

"On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly 
of the opinion, that it was such as was dictated by military 
wisdom, and by a due regard to our circumstances and to the 
situation of the enemy.* * * * And with a ready acquiescence, 
beyond the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to 
obey a general, whose measures meet our most deliberate ap- 
probation, and merit that of his country." 

The chivalrous and noble-spirited Croghan, who was one of 

4 



( 26 ) 

the signers of the above address, about the same time published 
another paper on this subject, dated from Lower Sandusky, in 
which he says: — " I have with much regret seen in some of the 
public prints such misrepresentations respecting my refusal to 
evacuate this post, as are calculated not only to injure me in the 
estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavourable im- 
pressions as to the propriety of General Harrison's conduct 
relative to this a flair. 

" His character as a military man is too well established to 
need my approbation or support. But his public service enti- 
tles him at least to common justice. This affair does not fur- 
nish cause of reproach. If public opinion has been lately mis- 
led respecting his late conduct, it will require but a moment's 
cool, dispassionate reflection, to convince them oj' its propriety. 
The measures recently adopted by him, so jar from deserving 
censure, are the clearest proofs of his keen penetration and able 
generalship.''' 

We have dwelt on this passage in the life of General Har- 
rison, somewhat longer than is consistent with the brevity of 
this sketch ; but the political opponents of General Harrison 
can find so few points in his whole life, that afford them the 
slightest apology for censure, that they have been driven to 
pervert and misrepresent an affair of so simple a nature as this, 
and one that, in truth, entitled him, as the gallant Croghan 
justly says, to the highest commendation. We have therefore 
thought it no more than common justice to him and to our 
readers, to lay before them this plain exposition of facts. The 
wisest and best actions are often misunderstood or perverted 
by the ignorant or the malicious. We trust and believe that 
the former constitute the larger portion, of those who have 
sought to shadow the fair fame of General Harrison; but 
while mean and sordid spirits exist, envy and detraction will 
always pursue exalted merit. Even Washington, the Father 
of our country, was intrigued against and calumniated. 

Disappointed in their hopes of plunder, and dispirited by the 
numerous defeats they had sustained, the savage allies of the 
British had become discontented ; the second siege of Fort 



( 27 ) 

Meigs had been abandoned, and gradually the enemy entirely 
withdrew from our territory, and concentrated their forces at 
Maiden, their principal stronghold in Upper Canada. It will 
thus be seen, that the skill with which General Harrison had 
conducted his defensive operations, the only resource left him 
in the face of a superior foe, had been eminently successful ; 
and had not only protected our widely extended frontier, but 
had eventually forced the enemy to retire, mortified and hum- 
bled by defeat, from our country. 

The activity and enterprise of General Harrison, did not 
long permit the enemy to rest, after their retreat from our ter- 
ritory. He immediately commenced preparations for carrying 
the war into their own country, and formed his plan for the 
capture of Maiden, and the conquest of Upper Canada. 

Commodore Perry had been instructed to co-operate with 
General Harrison, with the fleet under his command, and by a 
happy coincidence, that gallant hero gained his glorious victory 
on Lake Erie, and captured the entire squadron of the enemy, 
just about the time when General Harrison had matured his 
plans for the invasion of Canada. 

On the 27th of September, the troops embarked at Sandusky 
Bay, and advanced towards Maiden, expecting to find the 
British and Indians encamped there in full force. But upon 
landing on the Canada shore, they found that Proctor, dishear- 
tened by his recent defeats, had abandoned that stronghold, 
after having destroyed the fort and navy-yard; and had re- 
treated with his regulars and savage allies to Sandwich. Our 
army encamped at Maiden, and the patriotic troops could not 
restrain their exultation, on having gained possession of the 
fortress from which had issued, for years past, those ruthless 
bands of savages, which had swept over our extended frontier, 
like the wing of the destroying angel, leaving death and de- 
struction only in their path. 

Our army advanced rapidly in pursuit of the enemy, and 
overtook them on the 5th of October, at a place which is 
destined to be remembered, as the battle ground of one of the 
most remarkable and decisive actions fought during the war. 



( 23 ) 

General Proctor, having had his choice of ground, occupied 
a strong position, flanked on the left by the river Thames, and 
on the right by a swamp, beyond which were posted two thou- 
sand Indians, under Tecumthe. But Proctor committed an 
irretrievable error, in placing his regular soldiers in open or- 
der, and extending his line by placing the files at a distance ot 
three or four feet from each other. 

The American army advanced in order of battle, and when 
in the immediate neighbourhood of the enemy, the reconnoiter- 
ing parties brought in intelligence of the dispositions Proctor 
had made. Harrison, with the rapid decision of an able ge- 
neral, instantly availed himself of the error of his opponent, 
and ordered Colonel Johnson to charge the enemy's line in co- 
lumn, with his regiment of mounted Kentuckians. The ex- 
tended and weakened line of the enemy could offer but a feeble 
resistance to the charge of these gallant troops; who dashed 
through their ranks, with overwhelming impetuosity, and form- 
ed and attacked them in the rear. Panic-struck by this bold and 
unexpected manoeuvre, and at being assailed both in front and 
rear, the British threw down their arms in dismay, and the whole 
army was captured, with the exception of a few who escaped 
by an early flight with Proctor. The Indians attacked our 
troops on the left, and fought with great fierceness and daring, 
until their renowned chief Tecumthe was slain, as is supposed, 
by Colonel Johnson, when they fled from the contest. 

This decisive and important battle was thus fought and won, 
in a space of time almost incredibly short, and with a very tri- 
fling loss only on our side. All the baggage of the enemy, and 
their valuable military stores, together with the official papers 
of Proctor, fell into our hands ; and several pieces ot brass 
cannon, which had been taken from the British in our revolu- 
tionary victories, but which Hull had shamefully surrendered 
at Detroit, were again captured from our ancient foe. 

The united force of the British regulars and Indians engag- 
ed in this battle, amounted to more than 2800— the number of 
our troops was less than 2500— and those were principally mi- 
litia and volunteers. The venerable Governor Shelby com- 



( 29 ) 

manded the Kentucky volunteers in this battle, and General 
Cass, the present secretary of war, and the heroic Perry, act- 
ed as volunteer aids to General Harrison. This brilliant vic- 
tory, following up the capture of their fleet on Lake Erie by 
the gallant Perry, entirely destroyed the force of the enemy 
in Upper Canada, and put an end to the war on our northwest- 
ern frontier. 

On receiving the news of this glorious event, the thanks of 
Congress were expressed to General Harrison in the warmest 
manner. Among many others, whose grateful feelings found 
utterance on this occasion, the Hon. Langdon Cheves ob- 
served, on the floor of Congress, that — " The victory of Har- 
rison was such as would have secured to a Roman general in 
the best days of the Republic, the honours of a triumph." A 
sentiment which was?fully responded to, in the complimentary 
notices which he received from every part of the union. 

Having entirely defeated the enemy in Upper Canada, Gene- 
ral Harrison advanced with a part of his army, to the Niagara 
frontier, and thence to Sackett's Harbour, where he left the 
troops, and proceeded to the seat of government. On his way 
thither, he passed through New York and Philadelphia; in 
which cities he was received with the most flattering marks of 
public honour and distinction. After the necessary delay of a 
few days at Washington, General Harrison proceeded to Ohio, 
where important duties required his presence. 

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and 
regret of the public, General Harrison was designated for a 
service, far inferior to that which he had a right to expect. 
Regardless of the memorable victories which this gallant and 
experienced officer had won, and unmindful of the various and 
important services which he had rendered to his country, the 
Secretary of War saw fit to assign to him the command of a 
district, where he would be compelled to remain inactive, while 
others were appointed to those more arduous duties, which he 
had heretofore fulfilled with so much honour to himself, and to 
the nation. As if still unsatisfied with this egregious insult 
which he had offered to General Harrison, the secretary of 



( 30 ) 

war, on the 25th of April, 1814, appointed a subordinate of- 
ficer to a separate command within his district, and notified 
him to that effect. On the receipt of this notification, General 
Harrison instantly addressed a letter to the secretary, tender- 
in<r his resignation, with a notification thereof to the president. 
" As soon as Governor Shelby heard of the resignation of Ge- 
neral Harrison, he lost no time in addressing the president in 
his usual forcible terms, to prevent his acceptance of it; but 
unfortunately for the public interests, the president was then 
on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from General 
Harrison and Governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of 
the latter was not received until after Secretary Armstrong, 
without the previous consent of the president, had assumed to 
himself the high prerogative of accepting the resignation. The 
president expressed his great regret that the letter of Governor 
Shelby had not been received earlier, as in that case the valua- 
ble services of General Harrison would have been preserved to 
the nation in the ensuing campaign."* 

In this resignation, General Harrison evinced the true pa- 
triotism and disinterestedness, which have always marked his 
conduct. He would cheerfully have devoted his services to 
his country, even in an appointment inferior to that which 
should have been assigned to him — but he was too high-princi- 
pled to retain his rank, by yielding assent to a measure, which 
he considered to be subversive of military order and discipline ; 
and though his own fortune had been shattered by the neglect 
of his private affairs, for the benefit of the public, yet he 
scorned to receive the pay and emoluments of his office, when 
he was no longer permitted to perform its duties actively and 
honourably. 

It would be difficult, at this period, to trace out the true 
motives that induced the secretary of war to the unjustifiable 
course he pursued in this affair. But some knowledge of those 
events of the war in which he bore a part, with a little insight 
into human nature, would suggest that the leading causes which 

* Dawson. 



( 31 ) 

prompted him, were the envy and jealousy, which a narrow- 
minded man would naturally feel, on contrasting his own fee- 
ble efforts, and abortive attempts, with the consummate skill, 
the brilliant victories, and the almost uniform successes of an- 
other. That he had acted in an arbitrary and unwarrantable 
manner, was afterwards clearly proved. — And in the investiga- 
tion which took place in Congress in the winter of 1816-17, it 
became so evident that General Harrison had been treated 
with great injustice by the war department, that a resolution 
giving him a gold medal and the thanks of Congress, was 
passed, with but one dissenting voice in both houses of congress. 
The leading events in the campaigns of 1812-13, — the gal- 
lant defence of Fort Meigs, and the decisive victory of the 
Thames, are lasting memorials of General Harrison's military 
genius. Yet, for these isolated actions, he deserves far less 
praise than for the skilful operations and the Fabian policy, which 
led to these and other successes. The prudent care and inde- 
fatigable exertions, by which he provided for his army in a 
wild and devastated country — the promptness and unwearied 
activity, with which he met and defeated the schemes of his 
antagonists — and the admirable skill, with which he held in 
check an enemy far superior in numbers, and with a small 
force, protected an extended line of frontier and guarded the 
lives and property of thousands of his fellow citizens, betoken- 
ed a genius of the highest order, with a vigorous mind con- 
stantly on the alert. 

Soon after his resignation, in the summer of 1814, Mr. 
Madison evinced his unabated confidence in the abilities and 
integrity of General Harrison, by appointing him to treat with 
the Indians, in conjunction with his old companions in arms, 
Governor Shelby and General Cass. And in the following 
year, he was placed at the head of another commission, ap- 
pointed to treat with the northwestern tribes. The advan- 
tageous treaties made in both these cases, afforded new in- 
stances of the unfailing success, that has always attended 
General Harrison's negotiations with the Indians. 

In 1816, he w r as elected, by a large majority, a member of 



( 32 ) 

the House of Representatives in Congress, from Ohio. In this 
station he served, greatly to his own honour, and to the satis- 
faction of his constituents, until 1819; when, on the expiration 
of his term of service, he was chosen to the Senate of the State 
Legislature. 

In 1824, he was elected a Senator of the United States, from 
Ohio. While serving in this high station, he commanded uni- 
versal respect. His views as a statesman were liberal and ex- 
fended, — his remarkable readiness in debate soon rendered him 
a prominent member. — and the nervous and impassioned elo- 
quence, and classical felicity of illustration, with which he 
enforced his arguments, gained him much influence. 

In 1828, he was appointed by Mr. Adams, Envoy Extra- 
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, to the Republic of 
Columbia. He accepted this appointment, and repaired, with- 
out delay, to the scene of his duties, where he was received 
with every demonstration of respect. He found this unhappy 
country in a deplorable condition — the people ignorant of their 
rights, and almost in a state of anarchy, and Bolivar apparently 
about to assume the despotic power of a military dictator. 
Shocked at this state of things, with the frankness of an old 
soldier, he wrote his celebrated letter to Bolivar, from which, 
as we have not space for the whole letter, we take the liberty 
of quoting the following extracts — "I contend," said General 
Harrison, " that the strongest of all governments is that which 
is most free. We consider that of the United States as the 
strongest, precisely because it is the most free. It possesses 
the faculties, equally to protect itself from foreign force, or in- 
ternal convulsion. In both it has been sufficiently tried. In no 
country on earth, would an armed opposition to the laws be 
sooner or more effectually put down. Not so much from the 
terrors of the guillotine and the gibbet, as from the aroused de- 
termination of the nation, exhibiting their strength, and convinc- 
ing the factious that their cause was hopeless." * * * * 

" In bestowing the palm of merit, the world has become 
wiser than formerly. The successful warrior is no longer re- 
garded as entitled to the first place in the temple of fame. 



( 33) 

Talents of this kind have become too common, and too often 
used for mischievous purposes, to be regarded as they once 
were. In this enlightened age, the mere hero of the field, and 
the successful leader of armies, may, for the moment, attract 
attention. But it will be such as is bestowed on the passing 
meteor, whose blaze is no longer remembered, when it is no 
longer seen. To be esteemed eminently great, it is necessary 
to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero and the gene- 
ral must be devoted to the advantage of mankind, before he 
will be permitted to assume the title of their benefactor; and 
the station which he will hold in their regard and affections 
will depend, not upon the number and splendour of his victo- 
ries, but upon the results and the use he may make of the 
influence he acquires from them." 

" If the fame of our Washington depended upon his military 
achievements, would the common consent of the world allow 
him the pre-eminence he possesses? The victories at Trenton, 
Monmouth and York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting as they 
certainly did the highest grade of military talents, are scarcely 
thought of. The source of the veneration and esteem which is 
entertained for his character, by every description of politicians, 
the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, is to be 
found in his undeviating and exclusive devotedness to the inte- 
rest of his country. No selfish consideration was ever suffered 
to intrude itself into his mind. For his country he conquered; 
and the unrivalled and increasing prosperity of that country is 
constantly adding fresh glory to his name." 

We regret that our limits will not permit us to insert the 
whole of this vigorous and beautiful production. But the few 
passages we have quoted, contain a fair specimen of the noble 
sentiments which characterize this letter, and give evidence of 
the pure republican principles, which have ever distinguished 
this eminent statesman. 

General Harrison remained in Colombia but a short time, 
having been recalled by the present administration, soon after 
it came into power. 

Since his return from this mission, he has lived in compara- 

5 



(34) 

tive retirement, in Ohio, the state of his adoption. With the 
most enticing opportunities of accumulating wealth, during his 
long government of Indiana, and superintendency of Indian 
affairs, he acquired none ; his honest and scrupulous integrity 
was proof against the golden temptations. His time and best 
energies were devoted to the service of his country, and his 
own interests were ever, with him, a secondary consideration. 
He therefore retired without the spoils of office, and with only 
a competency barely sufficient for his support; but rich in a 
reputation undimmed by a single tarnish, and in the honour 
and respect of all his fellow citizens. 

General Harrison is now sixty-two years of age; (about six 
years younger than President Jackson,) but such have been the 
activity and temperate habits of his past life, that he enjoys his 
moral and physical energies in remarkable vigour. In person 
he is tall and thin ; his features are irregular, but his eyes are 
dark, keen and penetrating ; his forehead is expansive ; his 
mouth peculiarly indicative of firmness and genius; and his 
countenance is highly expressive of intelligence and benevo- 
lence. His manners are plain, frank and unassuming, and his 
disposition is cheerful, kind and generous, almost to a fault. In 
his private intercourse, he is beloved and esteemed by all who 
know him. In the various civil and military offices he has held, 
he has always been moderate and forbearing, yet firm and true 
to his trust. No other commander has ever been more popular 
with our militia, and the true secret of this cannot be better 
explained than by his own reply, when asked how he had 
gained this influence : " By treating them," said he, " with 
affection and kindness ; by always recollecting that they were 
my fellow citizens, whose feelings I was bound to respect; and 
by sharing with them, on every occasion, the hardships which 
they were obliged to undergo." 

In the republican institutions of our country, birth and pa- 
rentage are comparatively of very little importance ; and no 
candidate for public favour can found thereon the slightest 
claim to the respect or the support of his fellow citizens. We 
have happily shaken off the thralling prejudices of the old 



( 35 ) 

world, and a title to office and honourable distinction is not 
with us hereditary; but every man must earn his own good 
name, and his claim on the favour of the people, by his own 
good deeds. Yet, aware, as every one must be, of the power- 
ful influence of early education, it is worthy of remark, as well 
as gratifying to know, that a candidate for public office, in 
whom we feel an interest, passed all the early years of his life 
with the brightest examples constantly before him; and under 
the parental tuition of one of those illustrious patriots, whose 
memory is revered by every true-hearted American. It is 
pleasing to know, that his first political sentiments were imbibed 
in a school of the purest republican principles. And when we 
trace up the career of this individual, from the spring-time of 
his youth, to the summer of his manhood and to the early 
autumn of his years, and see those principles closely adhered 
to throughout, we can scarcely resist the conviction, that his 
future course will be consistent with the past ; and that, with 
matured abilities, he will be still more conspicuous for his 
republican principles, his moderation in office, his firm integrity, 
and his extended and enlightened views as a statesman. Such 
were the early advantages of William Henry Harrison; such 
has been his course thus far through life; and such' is now the 
bright promise, to a realization of which we may safely look 
forward, should the people see fit to place him in office. 

The friends of General Harrison found no claim on his 
military services. His own sentiments on this subject we have 
already quoted ; and his friends would scorn, as much as he 
would, any attempt to dazzle a single one of his fellow citizens 
by the glory of his military renown, brilliant though it be. 
They would point rather to his numerous civil services, in the 
forty years he has devoted to his country ; to the various and 
important offices he has so ably filled — in the territorial govern- 
ments, in the Legislature of his own state, and in the House of 
Representatives and Senate of the United States ; and to the 
high order of abilities displayed in his speeches in Congress, in 
his public acts, and in his voluminous public correspondence. 
And we here take occasion to say, that all his letters and public 



( 36 ) 

papers have been exclusively written by himself; and that so 
far from his having called in the mental aid of another, to pre- 
pare his messages and despatches, as some of our distinguished 
men have condescended to do, he has never even employed an 
amanuensis, to perform the manual labour of his correspondence. 
His ruling principles through life, appear to have been, an ar- 
dent love for his country, and an earnest desire to serve her 
best interests; with a devotion to the pure republican maxims 
of the Revolution, always unwavering and consistent: unlike 
the scheming politicians of a more modern school, whose own 
interest is the polar star that guides them, whatever may be- 
tide their country. 

With tried patriotism, with abilities of the highest order, 
with integrity pure as the unsullied snow, and with the truest 
republican principles, William Henry Harrison is now before 
his fellow citizens, as a candidate for the highest office in their 
gift. In the long course of his public life, he has always been 
a staunch advocate of popular rights, and is therefore truly the 
candidate of the people. He comes before them, not with a 
crowd of pampered and still-grasping officials to intrigue and 
bribe for him, but with the noble frankness of an honourable 
and high-minded man, willing and desirous to be judged impar- 
tially by his fellow citizens, and ready to abide by their honest 
decision. 



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